In the previous article, we discussed Hell as a mental or mindset-oriented experience. In this writing, we will address Hell as physical, in the sense of karmically-formed universes of suffering.
Just like terror, pain, and suffering can be experienced inwardly (hatred, injustice, anger) and outwardly (as civilians residing in war-torn countries like Gaza or Ukraine, enduring bombs and devastation), so too in Buddhism, Hell in the mind and Hell as a physical personification are no different in origin—both arise through karma.
In the Buddha’s teaching, the six destinies of saṃsāra are not mere symbols but actual fields of existence. Just as our human world is wrought from collective karma, so too the heavens and the hells are sustained by the ripening of deeds. To speak of “hell” (niraya) is not to indulge in imagination but to recognise one of the conditioned worlds into which beings may be reborn after death.
The ancient discourses describe hell as vast, physical, and layered. In the Devadūta Sutta (MN 130, Majjhima Nikāya), the Blessed One speaks of the messengers of hell who drag the unwholesome to a place of scorching heat, iron floors, and endless tortures. In the Itivuttaka (It. 70), the Buddha describes the consequences of killing, lying, and divisive speech, leading beings toward rebirth in the lower realms.
These descriptions, while vivid, are not to terrify but to reveal the karmic consequences of unwholesome actions—especially cruel killing, stealing, lying, and the abuse of spiritual trust.
The Layers of Hell
Buddhist cosmology details both hot hells and cold hells, together forming the great wheel of suffering beneath Mount Sumeru, in the deepest planes of the universe.
The Eight Hot Hells (Naraka, “Fires of Karma”)
- Sañjīva (Revivification Hell – “The Hell of Being Revived”)
Beings are struck down, only to be revived again and again, to suffer repeated deaths.
– Described in Devadūta Sutta (MN 130). - Kālasūtra (Black Thread Hell – “The Hell of Fiery Lines”)
Fiery cords sear black lines across the body, which are then cut apart.
– Referenced in Abhidharmakośa, ch. 3. - Saṃghāta (Crushing Hell – “The Iron Mountain Hell”)
Bodies are pulverised between mountains of iron.
– Mentioned in Itivuttaka (It. 70). - Raurava (Screaming Hell – “The Desert of Fire”)
Beings run across burning ground, screaming in agony.
– Cited in the Dīgha Nikāya (DN 1, Brahmajāla Sutta). - Mahāraurava (Great Screaming Hell – “The Demonic Feast”)
Beings are pursued and consumed by demonic creatures.
– Detailed in the Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva Sūtra (ch. 5). - Tāpa (Heating Hell – “The Iron Cauldron”)
Flames engulf the body without pause, like burning in molten metal.
– Referenced in the Abhidharmakośa. - Pratāpa (Great Heating Hell – “The Melting Bones”)
Heat so intense that marrow and bones themselves dissolve.
– Cited in Mahāyāna texts on karmic retribution. - Avīci (Uninterrupted Hell – “The Realm of No Interval”)
The lowest and most terrifying hell, where suffering is continuous without a single break until the karma is exhausted.
– Mentioned in the Lotus Sūtra (Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra, ch. 3) and Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva Sūtra (ch. 5).
The Eight Cold Hells (Frozen Naraka – “The Ice Realms”)
Unlike the hot hells, these realms torment with unbearable cold. They are recorded in the Abhidharmakośa (ch. 3) and Chinese Āgamas:
- Arbuda (Blister Hell – “The Frostbite Blisters”)
Bodies swell with painful blisters from freezing winds. - Nirarbuda (Burst Blister Hell – “The Splitting Flesh”)
Blisters burst open, leaving raw wounds. - Atata (Shivering Hell – “The Teeth Chattering Realm”)
Beings tremble uncontrollably, emitting the sound “at-at-at” from shivering. - Hahava (Wailing Hell – “The Realm of Groans”)
Beings cry out “ha-ha” in anguish from cold. - Huhuva (Chattering Hell – “The Stammering Realm”)
Teeth chatter violently, producing “hu-hu” sounds. - Utpala (Blue Lotus Hell – “The Splitting Skin”)
Skin turns blue and cracks open like blue lotus petals. - Padma (Red Lotus Hell – “The Splitting Flesh”)
Frozen winds cut into the body, wounds blossom like red lotuses. - Mahāpadma (Great Lotus Hell – “The Shattering Bones”)
Bones themselves split apart, blooming into white lotuses of suffering.
The Logic of Physicality
One may ask: are these not metaphors? The scriptures teach otherwise.
- In the Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra, Amitābha’s Pure Land is described as an actual cosmic land established by vow and collective karma.
- In the Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva Sūtra (ch. 2), the Bodhisattva describes the detailed geography of the hells beneath the earth, naming Avīci, Saṃghāta, and others.
- In the Pāli Nikāyas (MN 129, MN 130), the Buddha describes physical punishments—iron cauldrons, blazing fire, and frozen wastelands.
By the same reasoning, if collective karma of faith and virtue can bring forth the Amitābha Pure Land in the far reaches of the cosmos, then the collective karma of hatred, cruelty, and delusion can bring forth the realms of hell in the depths of the cosmos.
Thus, Buddhist cosmology holds:
- Karma has form.
- Form creates worlds.
- Worlds hold beings according to their karma.
Hell as a Mirror
The purpose of such teaching is not despair but wisdom. The hells are mirrors showing the weight of unwholesome deeds. They remind us that every thought, word, and action carries consequence—not only in this life, but across lifetimes.
And yet, even in the lowest Avīci Hell, the Dharma remains true: conditions arise and pass away. No hell is eternal. As karma exhausts, beings are released, and the door to higher realms is open again. Read this /Hell: The Ultimate Decontamination Realm
Conclusion
To walk the Buddha’s path is to see that saṃsāra holds all extremes—heavens shining with bliss, and hells thick with suffering. Both are conditioned, both impermanent, both empty of self.
Therefore, the wise cultivate compassion, generosity, and mindfulness—not from fear of punishment, but from understanding:
“Just as the Pure Land can be established in the far reaches of the cosmos through collective virtue, so too the hells can be established in the depths of the cosmos through collective unwholesome deeds. Both are real, both are karmically formed, and both remind us that the way we walk now is the way we shall awaken tomorrow.”